momentous
adjective
mo·men·tous
mō-ˈmen-təs 
mə-
: having great or lasting importance : consequential, significant
a momentous decision
a momentous event/occasion
The Senate begins a momentous debate on health care today …—
The New York Times
The New York TimesDeydey usually talked about his travels, the places he'd seen and the people, the close calls and momentous encounters with animals, weather, other Anishinabeg, and best of all, ghosts.—Louise Erdrich
Louise ErdrichThe late nineteenth century was strewn with inventions. Many were momentous, but few affected men and women more closely than the bicycle and its motorized offspring: motorcycle, motor-car and aeroplane.—Eugen Weber
Eugen Weber
momentously
adverb
a momentously important decision
… a … twist that is executed differently from the comic book story, but is just as dramatically and momentously presented.
—The Philippines Daily Inquirer
The Philippines Daily Inquirer
momentousness
noun
But other East Europeans had little time to marvel at the momentousness of the moment. Just one day after the fall of the [Berlin] Wall, Bulgaria's dour leader of 35 years, Todor Zhivkov, was ousted.
—Stephen E. Deane
Stephen E. Deane
Synonyms
Examples of momentous in a Sentence
My college graduation was a momentous day in my life.
a momentous occasion that will go down in the history books
Recent Examples on the Web
The temperature reached that momentous reading in Phoenix on Sunday, April 21.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2024
To mark the momentous occasion, PEOPLE has an exclusive look at the sizzle reel, looking back on 25 years of Family Guy and highlighting clips from the last 22 seasons.
—Dory Jackson, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
To mark this momentous occasion, Glamour staff, which is composed of diehard Swifties, casual fans, and even some skeptics, gathered together to listen to the album for the first time and chat about it.
—Glamour, 19 Apr. 2024
Tyler, The Creator headlined the second day of Coachella on Saturday night — a momentous occasion for one of rap’s biggest stars, coming 13 years after his Coachella debut as a member of Odd Future in 2011.
—Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2024
To celebrate the momentous occasion, the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive will livestream the hatching via the falcon’s Nest Cam on a huge screen from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the corner of Addison and Oxford streets.
—John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
In many ways, the two momentous decisions of this period—what came to be known as austerity and Brexit—are now widely accepted as events that happened, rather than as choices that were made.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
Over the course of U.S. history, presidential rematches have signaled momentous political upheavals by revealing instabilities in the electoral system and exposing tensions in the coalitions of the major parties.
—TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
The Star spoke to Jackson County voters this week ahead of Tuesday’s momentous vote.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2024
Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2024
To mark the momentous occasion, PEOPLE has an exclusive look at the sizzle reel, looking back on 25 years of Family Guy and highlighting clips from the last 22 seasons.
—Dory Jackson, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
To mark this momentous occasion, Glamour staff, which is composed of diehard Swifties, casual fans, and even some skeptics, gathered together to listen to the album for the first time and chat about it.
—Glamour, 19 Apr. 2024
Tyler, The Creator headlined the second day of Coachella on Saturday night — a momentous occasion for one of rap’s biggest stars, coming 13 years after his Coachella debut as a member of Odd Future in 2011.
—Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2024
To celebrate the momentous occasion, the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive will livestream the hatching via the falcon’s Nest Cam on a huge screen from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the corner of Addison and Oxford streets.
—John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
In many ways, the two momentous decisions of this period—what came to be known as austerity and Brexit—are now widely accepted as events that happened, rather than as choices that were made.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
Over the course of U.S. history, presidential rematches have signaled momentous political upheavals by revealing instabilities in the electoral system and exposing tensions in the coalitions of the major parties.
—TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
The Star spoke to Jackson County voters this week ahead of Tuesday’s momentous vote.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'momentous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near momentous
Cite this Entry
“Momentous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/momentous. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
momentous
adjective
mo·men·tous
mō-ˈment-əs
: very important
a momentous decision
momentously
adverb
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